Contemporary on- and off-road going vehicles typically employ suspension systems that generally include a system of springs, shock absorbers, and linkages that connect a vehicle body to the vehicle's wheels. Because the majority of forces acting on the vehicle body are transmitted through contact patches between the road and the tires, one of the main objectives of a vehicle suspension is to maintain the contact between the vehicle's road wheels and the road surface. Additionally, the design of the suspension also influences the height of the vehicle body relative to the road surface, i.e., the vehicle's ride height.
Vehicle suspension systems generally contribute to the vehicle's road-holding/handling and braking, as well as provide comfort and reasonable isolation from road noise, bumps, and vibrations to the vehicle occupants. Because these objectives are generally at odds, the tuning of suspensions involves finding a compromise that is appropriate to each vehicle's intended purpose. For example, a suspension for a sporting vehicle may be tuned to give up some ride comfort in return for enhanced operator control, while a suspension for a luxury vehicle may be tuned for the opposite outcome.